Peacekeeping

In Tunisia, the third of nine commercial vessels from Ukraine arrived over the weekend, through the Black Sea Grain Initiative, bringing more than 78,000 tons of soft wheat to the country. A fourth vessel is scheduled to land today in Tunis, with 30,000 tons of corn.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres today announced the appointment of Faisal Shahkar of Pakistan as the United Nations Police Adviser in the Department of Peace Operations.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Security Council today voted to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) until 31 October 2023, calling on the parties to resume negotiations in good faith towards a mutually acceptable political solution for the region.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released a report showing that an estimated 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis in 2021, an increase of 4.5 per cent from 2020. According to the report, 1.6 million people died from tuberculosis in 2021, including 187,000 HIV-positive people.

Amid a resurgence of violence and intercommunal attacks, Sudan and South Sudan must continue their political engagement for implementing security and administrative arrangements in Abyei, and achieving an acceptable solution on the final status of the Area, speakers told the Security Council today, as it also looked towards a renewal of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) mandate and the mission’s support to the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism before they expire on 15 November.

A report by the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change shows that countries are bending the curve of global greenhouse gas emissions downward, but the report underscores that these efforts remain insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C by the end of the century.

In Lebanon, the World Health Organization, UN Refugee Agency and the United Nations Children’s Fund are coordinating efforts, and the United Nations is seeking $43 million more over the next three months to address the cholera outbreak. As of 22 October, there have been a reported 239 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.

In the Security Council’s open debate on strengthening women’s resilience and leadership as a path to peace in regions plagued by armed groups, the Deputy Secretary-General said that the international community cannot separate global peace’s perilous state from the effects of patriarchy and the silencing of women’s voices.

The World Health Organization’s new report noted that, in this decade, almost 500 million people will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes or other noncommunicable diseases due to physical inactivity. If Governments do not urgently encourage more physical activity, costs for this could reach $27 billion annually.